Oxbridge applicants 2018

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

I've hesitated before making this thread as I don't really like the whole making Oxbridge out as a special case when there are lots of amazing universities that are just as good for individual courses. However, it is a different application process with a lot happening by January should they get that far and irl I don't know anyone else's dc applying to talk to them about it. I expect most of us are in that situation. At the moment I rely on dd and the occasional foray into student room to learn what happens next.

So welcome all parents of Oxbridge candidates - a thread to chat over what's to come and to support if our kids find they have to steer in a different direction.

Application forms due in in a few weeks

MrsGuy and Ffion that is the mantra in our house. That it’s completely wonderful to even be in a viable position to apply to Oxbridge! I keep trying to remind DD of that.
DD says she would just like to be asked for an interview, just so she can have that experience, but we are agreed that from that point it’s really down to Luck more than anything.
LAT to get through first. DD has done the single available past paper to death - not really sure how else she can prepare.

Tyunnos I have no useful information about either college I’m afraid.
DD chose a college fairly flippantly - might as well have stuck a pin in a map I think! she liked one of the tutors and liked the location.
But she said she didn’t want to put too much thought into it and get too attached because the chances of being pooled and assigned a different one anyway are so high.

*- Could I bear to teach this person for three years? in which case they were offered a place.

• Would I enjoy teaching this person for three years? - in which case they got a scholarship*

This sounds incredibly out of date, for multiple reasons. First of all, most of us would be happy to teach almost all the students we interview - but we don't have places for them all. Secondly, there are no Oxbridge scholarships these days (except in music). Thirdly, the phrasing of these questions seems to imply bias about "liking" the candidates - academics would choose the candidates with the highest academic potential, even if they feel they won't "enjoy" teaching them.

user, it was indeed a while ago!

But I think she was making the same point - that almost all invited to interview could cope well with the courses and it was incredibly difficult to choose between them.

Good to hear that admissions tutors have now eliminated any personal bias from their selections.

Well, we at least try to eliminate bias as much as possible.... there is much more training on this issue nowadays.

I wonder if anyone on here has an opinion or experienc eof this:

DD was given an interview by a very recent Oxford grad yesterday who fuelled DD's concerns. Interviewer during coffee said, I didn't realise how much more pressure Oxbridge would be than a top UK uni. She cited day 4 being given a 30 book list and told to write an essay on a topic she had never met before. I understand for many students this would be a great challenge but others would find it daunting. Even those who are very bright.

not objective?

Hey violets that does sound rather daunting. My thinking is to let my DS go for it. It will almost certainly result in nothing but still worth a try. If he did get an offer we would then seriously consider it against alternatives and not be overwhelmed by the fact it is Oxbridge. Our young ones will do better where they are happiest.

There is a good deal of pressure but also incredibly few students drop out, so it's clearly manageable for most. If a student has already shown real anxiety dealing with academic workload at school then it might be a good idea to think again - otherwise just look at the stats which indicate that for almost everyone there, it's do-able.

Hi all, finding this discussion about the interview and dropout rates (i.e. hardly any) very interesting.

DS's UCAS form went in on Thursday lunchtime and he has received the Cambridge SAQ. Had to prise both these nuggets of information out of him.

Just had his mid-term report from school - not stellar. I'm hoping they've marked harshly to motivate them at this early stage of the year. No parent-teacher meeting until January.

Anybody practising TSA rhis weekend?? My DS, husband and I do them together. Hubby getting better, DS static and me on a downward curve!!

Thank you for responses. Yes hubble thank you, goi g with flow is way forward. My DD copes with workload well but can sometimes lack confidence and feel inimidated which might not help. We have to just wait and see where she is offered. So many good u is around.

Hmm yes I believe there is pressure but I would have the thought the task referred to isn't unexpected - one of the attractions of Oxbridge is individual tutorials/seminars with the chance to discuss topics and your work in depth with experts. I presume they weren't expected to read all the books or but writing multiple essays in short time frame should be expected. They should be aware of that and that should be part of the reason they are applying. I would have preferred sitting anonymously in a big lecture room but my DD loves the thought of 1 on 1 discussion

*unis

She cited day 4 being given a 30 book list and told to write an essay on a topic she had never met before.

In my subject, I might do that. Students would be told they don't need to read all 30 books, though - they're meant to pick and choose. Then next week they get another list and another new topic and they write another essay.

Yes, some students who are very bright don't like to work this way. That's fine. But Oxbridge isn't just trying to attract the brightest students - it's trying to attract the brightest of the students who are suited to working a particular way. There's nothing wrong with being someone who prefers doing long pieces of coursework over a whole term and hates the idea of writing a new essay each week - but if that's who you are, Oxbridge might not be right for you, and Oxbridge doesn't have a duty to change its course to suit you.

Voilets that's pretty much exactly what happens but that's the fun of it! You get 30 recommended books, read the relevant chapters in 5-8 of them, attend a lecture on the subject, write an essay then have it critiqued in a 1 hour tutorial. Yes it's daunting but it's all about doing your own research and forming your own opinions not just regurgitating. I promise it's more fun than it seems.

DS submitted his application to school on time, and agreed he should double check they have put in for the assessment. In typical DS style, he has not revealed whether he has had an acknowledgement or the SAQ, and I'm loathe to keep asking/nagging and put the pressure on. I did see him working on the NSAA yesterday, so am assuming all is ok. After all the worrying about getting the form in on time, the waiting now seems odd. I can only trust DS to do what he needs to do to prepare as best he can for the admission test and take it from there.

Thank you for feedback. Believe me dragon, I'm not saying oxbridge has to change. I am saying it's okay to find out if this is the style so my DD can decide if that is for her.
Anna, yes, it could, I see be great fun and stimulating. Not sure how DD will see it yet.
So valuable to have a place to ask these questions.

Sorry!

I didn't mean to come across rudely.

I just feel it's a problem that there's an emphasis on Oxbridge being 'the best,' and it's not true. They do a very specific set of things, and if that's what works for you, that's great. But they aren't and can't be perfect for everyone, and they were never set up to be.

Many thanks for your insights dragon.

First PPE offer received from Manchester (his insurance) - AAA. DS os feeling a bit uneasy as the standard Manchester offer for PPE (according to their website) is AAB, he’s worried now that his application is “crap”. Trying to reassure him that it’s still an offer and below his predicted grades!

I have a question about written work.
For DD’s course she needs to submit 2 essays.
The guidelines say it should be just normal school work which they have produced during year 13 for their A level subjects.

DD is doing 2 essay subjects but doesn’t seem to have written any actual essays yet this year!
In both they are spending this term working towards their final coursework, so no suitable stand alone piece of written work.

So should she submit something from year 12? ( she isn’t entirely sure she has any she’s completely happy with. Not for this purpose anyway!)
Or should she write something new, going against the guidelines which explicitly say not to produce something specially?

She had originally planned to send part of her EPQ but it turns out that doesn’t meet the guidelines either.

She says that when they had current students in to give the “Oxbridge talk” at her school, she definitely got the impression they were expected to produce something new.
But online it says not to do that.

Is it one of those things where the official line is “you don’t need to do this” but everyone does anyway?

PS Congratulations to Itinerant’s ds!

And Thankyou to Dragon for the inside scoop on references, very good to know.

Have lurked on this thread, DD2 not going for Oxbridge but thought I'd say that DD1 handed in a Year 12 essay that she got a good mark for, she did tweak it a little but not much and it did the job (with PS, predicted grades etc) of getting her to the interview. I assume that once you're at interview it's only that and the exam that get you in.

Itinerant - that surprised me enough to google and the page I found says AAA

www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/2018/00154/ba-politics-philosophy-and-economics/entry-requirements/

Ah... it was AAB this years entry http://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/2017/00154/ba-politics-philosophy-and-economics/

That one came first in the search, but it'll be the 2018 entry requirement which is relevant for your DS - so he does have the standard offer.

Hope that reassures him there's nowt wrong with his PS